If the mid size pickup truck segment was heating up when GM introduced its at the time new Chevy truck, the second-gen Chevy Colorado, as well as the GMC Canyon in 2015, then it’s about to get much hotter.

Besides the usual segment contenders that include the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, along with GM’s Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, Ford will soon introduce the all-new Ranger and Jeep will introduce the pickup version of the Wrangler. And now, there is evidence to suggest that Volkswagen might be planning to enter the fray. A blazing-hot segment, indeed.

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At least you have to give VW credit for coming up with an imaginative way to get rid of excess Phaeton parts!

The current mid-size truck market is a Japanese affair - Toyota leads both GM lines combined. However - one must also remember that GM has limited production availability - so it cannot produce more to compete with. SO - it might be possible for VW to come in a take some sales - especially from the also ran Nissan. However - with FORD also coming in at the same time - you can expect the segment to get more "AMERICAN". ANd VW will not sell them in any great numbers.

The problem is that VW is a GERMAN company - and thinks in GERMAN - not English - for the entire world. There was at time when VW tried to give American names (The the golf/rabbit) - but apparently that did not work. That the word "golf" means something in English VERY different from the intended foreign language only shows how they do not even consider the english equivalents.

ATLAS - as they use it - is actually a proper name - and is not translated to languages - so at least it might be considered a good choice - except that in our language - an atlas might also be a collection of maps.

@TomM you nailed it. VW has always had cultural bigotry that thinks The Fatherland knows best.

VW dealers were screaming for crossovers and VW is just now getting around to them.

I remember VW being shocked that the dealers didn't want the Scirocco. To VW, the Scirocco was a total winner--and I don't think it is even in Europe--but what we saw was a flabbier looking GTI with a base price of $40K. Thankfully, THAT didn't come.

More recently, VW dealers DIDN'T want the Arteon, but guess what, Germany knows best so a vehicle that looks like it competes with the CamCord and FusNatas of the world is coming, but it will be priced $15K higher in base price and double the price of CamCord and FusNatas sitting on the lot.

The mere fact that VW designed the Amarok and that it did not occur to them to make it suitable for the USA shows just how incompetent think in German has made them.

What VW (or any brand) really need is a compact (& affordable like $20k) pick up. Like the Rabbit pick up from the 70s. All the compacts we have now have grown into mid size and most are priced like full size.

After spending the last 14 years managing a VW dealership(I have since moved on) this will be as it has been the last 10+ years nothing but a pipe dream and if they finally bring it to market just like all of their product launches it will be too little too late... The Atlas and new Tiguan are prime examples VW promised us those products forever and ever but when we finally got them they were way too late and not good enough to be viable... Yes they will sell the Atlas and Tiguan but only in tiny quantities and only once they start giving them away as especially with the Atlas the size is exceptional for the class it is in but the styling leave much to be longed for while the interior materials are subpar at best even compared to the Pilot or Highlander... VW always screwed us as dealers when it came to product especially if you had a sold order there wasnt even a system in place to build sold orders you just gave them to your rep and they got built whenever VW felt like it which for some products it was 6+ months..

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